You'll have to provide a definition of "bad loan".If I take out a loan from the bank, get into a car accident a month later and default, should my loan officer be fired? What about the regulator of my bank?

"so does this not imply that the bailouts benefited or enriched the banks, i.e. their owners and executives?"

Yes, banks that didn't go under didn't have to fire all their execs.Banks that didn't go under, didn't have their stock prices go to zero.

It's a shame that the government made short term loans, loans that were repaid, at a profit to the Treasury of tens of billions, that benefited the entire economy, also benefited bank owners and executives.Happy?